Rafael Nadal 'scared' ahead of Basel event

Oct 20, 2014, 08:30 IST
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AFP

Rafael Nadal admitted yesterday he's feeling "scared" over his first appearance in a decade at the Swiss Indoors tournament with the shadow of unavoidable appendix surgery hovering over the great Spaniard

Basel: Rafael Nadal admitted yesterday he's feeling "scared" over his first appearance in a decade at the Swiss Indoors tournament with the shadow of unavoidable appendix surgery hovering over the great Spaniard.

Rafael Nadal. Pic/Getty Images

Nadal, who last played in Basel in 2004 and stands 0-2 in the hometown of top seed Roger Federer, starts the tournament today against a qualifier.

The 28-year-old, nine-time French Open champion has been on a regime of antibiotics which will hopefully help him postpone the appendectomy surgery for a few more weeks. "It's going to be one of the most dangerous first rounds in a 500 tournament that I've played in a long time," admitted Nadal.

Insufficient practice"I am not 100 per cent sure what is going to happen tomorrow. I haven't practised well enough or enough times. My body feels more tired than usual when I'm playing.

"Practising is one thing, competing is another. When you compete you have the adrenaline, the heart goes faster, and I don't know how my body is going to answer. I'm a little bit scared about how my body is going to react. Some of my injuries have been after antibiotic treatments. Hopefully that won't be the case this time."

Despite the appendix problem, Nadal remains optimistic. "It will be a tough comeback but I try to stay positive. Injuries are part of sports and a big part of my career. I take it day by day. I don't know whether I will be able to play on top when I'm 33 (as Federer is doing). I'm just thinking about tomorrow."